Job Cost Tracking Checklist

Mirror the estimate's cost-code structure into Sage 300 CRE, Viewpoint Vista, or Procore Financials. Match CSI MasterFormat divisions used at bid. Misaligned codes between estimate and accounting are the single most common reason WIP reports diverge from the PM's forecast at month-end.

Import the AIA G703 schedule of values line items as the budget baseline. Confirm the SOV totals tie to the contract value (or current GMP) before locking. Any subsequent change order should adjust the budget through a controlled revision, not a manual overwrite.

Enter executed subcontracts and POs as commitments tied to the relevant cost codes. Set retainage percentage per the prime contract. Without commitments loaded, committed-cost-to-budget reporting will understate true exposure.

Separate owner contingency, GC contingency, and any allowance line items into distinct cost codes so draws against them are visible. Mixing contingency into trade buckets hides where the project is actually bleeding.

Pull weekly time from busybusy, ExakTime, or HCSS HeavyJob and verify foreman coding before payroll posts. Default-coded hours dropped to a catch-all bucket are the largest source of labor variance noise. The superintendent should approve coding weekly, not at month-end.

Three-way match: PO, packing slip from the field, and supplier invoice. AP should not release payment without all three. Watch for tax, freight, and fuel surcharges that arrive uncoded — they belong on the originating cost code, not lumped into general conditions.

Each sub's monthly G702/G703 must reconcile to their committed value plus any executed change orders. Approved-but-unexecuted PCOs do not belong in the billed-to-date column. Confirm conditional partial lien waivers are attached before approving for payment in GCPay or Textura.

Owned equipment hours from Tenna or Samsara should hit the project at the published internal burdened rate. Rental invoices from United, Sunbelt, and Herc should be coded to the trade activity using the equipment, not a blanket equipment code.

Run the work-in-progress report after the AP cutoff date — pulling before cutoff misses the last week of invoices and overstates remaining budget. Export to the project controls workbook for variance analysis.

For every cost code with activity, verify actual + remaining commitment ties to the original budget plus approved change orders. Codes where committed exceeds budget without an executed CO are the early warning signal.

Filter the WIP for codes where actual-plus-committed exceeds 90% of budget while physical progress lags. Walk these with the superintendent — productivity loss, scope gap, or miscoding are the three usual culprits and they have very different remedies.

Pull the change order log from Procore. Any PCO with field work performed but not yet executed is exposure that needs an accrual on the WIP, otherwise the forecast understates the true cost-at-completion.

Post journal entries into Sage or Viewpoint reflecting performed-but-unexecuted PCO costs at the cost-code level. Reverse next month when the CO executes. Coordinate with the controller so the accrual hits the correct period.

For each active code the PM enters an EAC informed by physical % complete from the field, not just dollars spent. The delta between budget and EAC is the projected gain or loss carried into the monthly forecast.

If rock, contaminated soil, or unmarked utilities have driven cost above contract assumptions, segregate those costs into a dedicated DSC code. Most prime contracts give a short window (often 7-14 days) to issue notice; without segregated costs the eventual claim is unprovable.

If projected fade exceeds the GC contingency, a written recovery plan is required before the next OAC meeting. This is a Project Executive call, not a PM call — escalate the trigger.

Recovery actions typically include resequencing, crew adds, second shift, scope descopes, or VE proposals. Each action gets a dollar value and a target cost code so the next WIP shows whether the plan is working.

Standard package: WIP, EAC summary, top-five variance commentary, change order log, and forecast bridge from last month to this month. PX gets it 48 hours before the OAC so questions can be resolved before the owner sees the numbers.

Owner pay application billed-to-date by SOV line should not exceed cost-to-date plus earned margin on the same scope. Front-loading by line item invites a billing-vs-progress challenge from the owner's rep or lender's inspector.

Walk the report at the monthly OAC. Capture the owner's review status, any directed actions, and a signed copy of the report for the project record.

Save the period's WIP, EAC, and forecast bridge to the project file in Procore or Newforma. Closeout and any future claim work depends on having the period-by-period record intact.